I periodically make au verses of my main storyline. I mentioned a sort of urban fantasy au I was working on to tir_synni about a week or so ago, and was bluntly questioned on whether or not I was planning on writing it. Realizing that this one needed far less worldbuilding than my main one, I figured I'd think about, only to realize as the days past with a slowly growing sense of horror that it was *spawning*. I had enough of a plot to span a book, I had character vignettes, I had interpersonal relationships up the wazoo, and the characters kept talking to me. Then, last night, this happened.

( ...this is the only relationship I can think of where the character mind-raping/controlling another character into a relationship with them is the one who winds up being whipped )

...I... I think I'm in love.

To those waiting for the next chapter: I have not given up on the project, but things are a bit hectic. I'm taking two classes off campus this semester, one with an eighty minute round trip, the other with a hundred minute round trip that I have to make twice a week. There's also been some social drama I don't want to get into; suffice it to say I wound up getting more support from people than I realized, and also more frustration than I'd ever wanted. The next chapter should be out by the end of the month, but for the time being, I'm trying to find my equilibrium with classes and my social circle.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

(watching movie on SciFi channel in while working out)

Female Scientist: (gives rundown on plate techtonics) "And then 300 million years ago, all the plates were part of one massive continent, called Pangaea."

President: "I'm with you thus far. But what does this have to do with the flooding in Monument Valley, the earthquake in California, or Mt. St. Helen erupting?"

Female Scientist: "I believe it's because the plates have moved as far away from each other as they can ... and are now reversing their movements."

(that sound is me in physical pain)

Later:

Male Scientist: "Look, even if this theory of yours is correct, the type of movement you're talking about should take years; it wouldn't just be happening overnight."

Female Scientist: "My father-"

Male Scientist: Says what translates to 'the crackpot scientist considered crazy by most of the scientific community who you find yourself estranged from?'

Female Scientist: "Yes. He had another theory; that when plate movement reversed, it accelerated."

Male Scientist: "What did he base this on?"

Female Scientist: [HANDWAVE]

Male Scientist: "My God."

1. I MADE IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND OF THE JET PROGRAM!!!!!
I've got an interview next month, and if that goes well, I get the job!

2. I'm taking a class on East Asian Diplomacy. We had to answer a question for the intro sheet, and I liked my answer enough to want to share. The question:
Without having done any of the reading, at this stage, what might to you constitute an "Asian Negotiating Style"?

There's a room. There are several elephants in this room. Occasionally the elephants step on things. One group points out the elephant stepped on something. Another group jumps at that group, claiming the elephants don't exist and even if they did, the other group is either exaggerating or lying about the damage. A subset of that group then pushes the elephant to step on something else. Another groups blames forces outside of the room, claiming all supposed elephant damage is the result of outside interference.

Things have been... difficult, lately. Being back at school makes some things worse and other things better. But with everything going on, one thing I've really realized is how far I've come. The me of today is not the me of my freshman year. The me of now doesn't hate herself for her mistakes. The me of now has been able to set up a support network, to connect with people, to connect with herself. The me of the past refused to give up, and this is how far I've come.

The me of now is slowly, everyday, getting a little healthier. And whatever mistakes I make, whatever diplomacy checks I fail, I won't let myself forget that that's kind of awesome.

(glares) Oh, do *not* tell me my cold's becoming bronchitis again. What the hell is it about being in warm areas that means I get sick???

My mom left for her vacation, two days after my dad showed up. Really weird to have him in the house. The elephant in the room of "Mom's basically written you out of her life after you kind of dumped her but you don't seem to have realized that, and do you get the part where you abandoned her? The part you tell yourself was justified, and kind of was, but again, THE PART WHERE SHE FEELS YOU ABANDONED HER?" is making some conversations a little awkward.

Just saw the movie Daybreak. It was surprisingly good. One of the rare vampire movies that looks at just what the repercussions of having most of the population turn to vampires would be, on a social, political, and economical level (stop laughing).

...On the bright side, I now know that I need to throw out the taco meat I tried to freeze. On the not-so-bright side, I need to rethink my policy of learning *everything* through hands-on experiences.

Also, when I called up a doctor's office and was told they wouldn't send me contacts, not only did I apparently have a second phone conversation with them that I have absolutely no memory of where I apparently ordered contacts from them, I've also memorized my father's credit card number to give to people in the middle of phone conversations I can't remember so they can bill it.

Lenscrafters, I was willing to buy having a second conversation with you, even though the day I supposedly ordered my contacts from you I was actually at a different optimotrist having an eye exam and ordering them *there*. But giving you my father's credit card number? "We don't keep them on file" my ass.

Cross 46 and the Backstage translated and sent. Continuing work on Cross 47.

The splatter patterns on my upper arm from the oil are actually kind of pretty in a weird abstract way.

On a happy note, been having a fun time making recipes out of the Chinese cookbook my mother got me for Christmas. Sesame chicken and nappa cabbage yesterday, steamed beef meatballs, stir-fried leeks, and fried rice today. On a not so happy note, I got careless with the fried rice and managed to splatter my left wrist to my shoulder with burning-hot oil. None of the burns are larger than a nickel, but there's a fair number of them and they're painful. Bleh.

1. I'm firmly convinced that in Yugioh Season Zero, Kaiba, Jounouchi, and Yugi are gay and involved in an epic love triangle. Also, Yugi would be fine with sharing.

2. Back in Arizona. Thing that weirds me out is how quiet this house is. Back at school, at my grandmother's house, almost every place I've stayed the past eight or so months there's always background noise, from the street, bugs, etc. Not here.

3. Working on finished the last page of volume 9 of Immortal Rain. It's two pages of handwritten text; handwritten Japanese is much more of a pain in the ass to try and read. Especially when you have a fourteen stroke kanji that looks almost identical to another fourteen inch one except for two small strokes. Already started the translation of Cross 47. Ishmael's kind of a dick.

(checking online Japanese dictionary)
Victim, victim... okay, that's victim of a crime, being a victim (of a disaster), captive, scapegoat-
Wait.
... did that just say 'torture in which the victim is bound and placed in a tub of snakes'?
...
...the one three beneath it is the word for "spurt of blood (from one's victim)"
...
... I'm not sure what's more disturbing, the fact that these are in the first fifteen options for the word victim, or the fact that the Japanese language actually has words that exist solely to fit the exact circumstances above. Also, I had no idea that was even an established form of torture.

(checking essay questions for the exam that's due on Sunday)
Boring movie we watched in class, thing on cell phones, thing on emoticons, contemporary Japanese society as seen in literature, blah blah bla-
Wait. The Continuation of Life Bureau short story can be one of our topics? We'd have to write about a perfect world and the idea of justice? And what our own perfect world would be? And I can go into detail about dystopias and the problems and solutions they present? And I can do multiple drafts of it and work on it in my room for the next three days since it's a take-home?
...
...
This. Exam. ROCKS.

I think one of the hardest things about being an 'adult' is dealing with the fact that when someone you love is in pain, there's nothing you can do but be there. You can't wave a wand and make it better. And if you let yourself get too close when they're hurting, you get hurt as well.

On a lighter note, fun conversation I had with artimusdin yesterday. Note: she has an earth science focus. I have an east asian studies focus with some crack thrown in for flavor. For context, she had just mentioned the impossibilty of Skyfire being frozen in ice for millions of years, for a variety of reasons.

kuroihakuchou: Oh, oh, I know!
kuroihakuchou: It was temporal ice!
[01:33] artimusdin: ... temporal ice?
[01:33] kuroihakuchou: yes!
[01:33] artimusdin: please tell me it's not what it sounds like.
[01:33] kuroihakuchou: it moved in time!
[01:33] artimusdin: *facepalms* It is.

Also, had a wonderful lunch with my father. Gave him his birthday present and as tradition mandated, turned the seat warmer on in his car when he was distracted.

As people who know me may be aware, I make jewelry. I also attempt to sell it. I have a website through which I do this, which can be found here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CameronRen

If you're looking for Christmas or other winter holiday gift for female relatives or friends, please take a look. Even if you aren't interested in buying, you might like the particular style of something.

Thanks!

1. My personal survival mantra *would* have ellipses in it.

2. Transformers Animated is actually kind of awesome.

3. Can anyone on my friends list edit youtube videos? Basically, I have several video clips and no idea how to put them together. On that note, how do I make a burned DVD that plays on my computer and on a DVD player?

Note: I am willing to pay someone who can do this. I'm trying to put something together for my mom; the video in question is posted in eight pieces on youtube and no DVD version was ever made.

4. Volume 9 has been translated. On to Volume 10!

So.

Reading Volume 10 of Immortal Rain. The Holy Shit Quotient appears to be over 9000.

Also, there appears to be a love triangle that would be very easy to write as a threesome. Just... holy shit. Seriously.

Had a nightmare with my JET application. Basically, overnight delivery service from UPS wound up being three day delivery service, and I almost missed the deadline. Don't really want to talk about it, other than I was essentially useless for most of last weekend with the stress.

Working on Immortal Rain translation. Two chapters should be up this week, and Cross 44 should be done shortly. Cross 45, blind idiot translation is done, and Cross 46, more than halfway done with the blind idiot.

I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my grandmother, two uncles, aunt, and next door neighbors. It went very well, the turkey didn't dry out despite it being my first one, and the above people were kind enough to do cleanup for me.

I walked into another *#($*ing metal thing and cracked my other jade bracelet. The one I've had for less than six months. This year alone, I've cracked two and broken a third; I'm apparently on a roll. (kicks chair) Limited spacial awareness is not enjoyable.

Blind idiot translation of 43 and 44 are complete.

Also, sending off the hardcopy of my JET application today. Fingers crossed.

Our translating group decided on the name Broken Violin. Mainly because it disappeared about eight volumes back and must be feeling extremely lonely at this point.

Bought Immortal Rain Volume 10 via Kinokuniya today, and will attempt to scan and post it when it arrives in the mail sometime in the next two weeks. What's more likely to happen is that I'll fail miserably or do a horrible job at it and by the time I finally get it right someone else will have posted scans with better image quality. So I'm more planning on just starting to translate it when I get it.

Blind idiot translation of cross 42 finished. On second draft, where I start to make it pretty.

Blind idiot translation of Cross 43 more than half done.